Hypothesis of potential active components in Angelica sinensis by using biomembrane extraction and high performance liquid chromatography.

The screening and analysis of bioactive components in traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) is very important not only for the quality control of crude drugs but also for elucidating the therapeutic principle. In this study, a method for screening potential active components from TCMs was developed by using biomembrane extraction and high performance liquid chromatography. Based on the methodology, aqueous extract of Angelica sinensis (WEAS) was used, and four compounds were detected by HPLC in the desorption eluate of red cell membrane extraction for WEAS. The compounds were identified as ferulic acid, ligustilide, senkyunolide H and senkyunolide I based on their UV, MS and NMR spectra. Actually, ferulic acid and ligustilide are considered as major active components in Angelica sinensis. Therefore, this method may be applied to predict the potential bioactivities of multiple compounds in TCMs simultaneously.